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Carmen Sarafian
Carmen Dalita Sarafian (b. 17 June 1974 in Hrazdan, Armenian SSR) is a British politician of Armenian origin. She is currently a member of the House of Commons for Thanet North. Ms Sarafian is a member of the Conservative Party. Early Life Sarafian was born in Hrazdan, in the Armenian Socialist Soviet Republic, and is the daughter of Murat and Murine Sarafian. She was named "Carmen" after the character and opera by Georges Bizet. She was raised in Hrazdan until 1989, when she followed her father and uncle to the United Kingdom. They settled in Peckham, London, where Carmen finished secondary school. She subsequently enrolled at City University London, where she studied forensics; she received a BSc in criminology and sociology in 1994. Civilian career Ms Sarafian trained as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police Service, and became a constable in 1992 (the earliest year she was allowed to enter the force). She worked in London for five years as a constable, and also began carving out her own business. By 1996, she purchased investment properties in Herne Bay, Westgate-On-Sea, and Birchington-on-Sea. In 1998, she moved to Herne Bay and began working as a Police Community Support Officer for Kent Police, while continuing her investment business. In 2002, through her formally established business, Razdan Holdings, she expanded her interests to include short-term properties in Armenia. These properties were often letted as part of "holiday packages," which included transportation and security. By the time of her election to Parliament, she had a personal net worth of roughly £190,000. Ms Sarafian maintained her career as a Kent Police CSO. In 2006, she made local news when, backed by the help of armed colleagues, she negotiated the end of a bank robbery in Margate, convincing the 22-year-old male robber to surrender his gun before hugging him. Politics Ms Sarafian became a naturalised United Kingdom citizen in 1993. The following year, she joined the Labour Party to support Tony Blair's successful leadership bid. She subsequently voted Labour in the 1997 General Election. By the 2001 General Election, however, she had renounced allegiance to any political party. In 2004, she joined the Conservative Party, feeling dismay with Blair's performance as Prime Minister and the Labour Party's general policy. Ms Sarafian became a Conservative organiser and donator in the run-up to the 2005 General Election, donating £20,000 of her own money to the Conservative Party. She also offered herself as a speaker, and travelled throughout southern England touting the Conservative Party's business and economic policies. Following the 2005 General Election, Ms Sarafian worked on David Cameron's successful leadership bid, and attended the Party Conference which saw him installed as leader. Ms Sarafian continued donating money to the Conservative Party, and in 2007 became a fundraiser for the regional Conservative committee in Kent. In 2008, Ms Sarafian ran for office herself when her local MP, Sir Roger Gale, announced his retirement. Spending £45,000 of her own money, she successfully ran for the Conservative nomination for Member of Parliament for Thanet North. Aside from the national themes promoted by the Conservative Party, Ms Sarafian's campaign also carried a personal theme of "Restoring Greatness," referring to her belief that "the United Kingdom is a great country, and I am running for Parliament because I believe Westminster needs to affirm that belief." She won the election by over 10,000. Cabinet Secretary In August 2008, Ms Sarafian was appointed Secretary of State for Defence in the Cabinet of William Halifax. As Secretary, she has identified implementing a Conservatve promise to withdraw British troops from Iraq as her top priority. Public image Some in Thanet North refer to Ms Sarafian as "the citizen MP," as she returns home to her constituency at least weekly while Parliament is in session, and usually remains in Thanet North when the Commons is in recess. While in Thanet North, she frequently attends local events in the constituency, including community theatre performances, local rallies, business openings, and festivals. In additon, she usually appears in public wearing business casual attire, as opposed to the more formal attire donned by MPs. Personal life and non-political interests Following her election to the House of Commons, Ms Sarafian sold all of her investment properties. Razdan Holdings, the holding company through which she controlled the property, still exists, although it currently exists solely on paper and has no income. Ms Sarafian became a United Kingdom citizen in May 1993, and as a result lost her Armenian nationality. In June 2007, she was re-naturalised as a dual citizen of Armenia, following recently-enacted legislation which allowed Armenian citizens to hold dual nationality. A self-described fan of "all kinds of music," Carmen Sarafian said in one interview that she owns "roughly 1,500 CDs, although, to be honest, I haven't given it a thorough count." She plays guitar and bass and is the lead singer and bass player for Albarn's Girlfriends, an all-female rock band. The band started out in 2000 as a Blur cover act (the band's name is a nod to Blur frontman Damon Albarn), but have since expanded their repertoire to include songs by other artists, including The Clash, The Police, U2, Dire Straits, Joss Stone, Take That, and Girls Aloud, among others. Following Ms Sarafian's election the House of Commons, Albarn's Girlfriends made an unannounced performance in front of the Houses of Parliament. Ms Sarafian is a member of Armenian Apostolic Church, and currently belongs to the St Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church in Kensington, London. Ms Sarafian is a fan of rugby union and follows both Harlequin F.C. and the men's and women's national teams; she also currently plays the flanker position in a local women's rugby union team in Canterbury. In addition, she enjoys football and is a fan of Gillingham F.C. During the 2008 election, she publicly challenged her Labour opponent, a male, to a one-on-one football match.